The invention concerns a rolling bearing for a release device of a friction clutch arranged preferably between an internal combustion engine and a mechanical automobile transmission, with the rolling bearing comprising a rotating outer bearing ring and a rotationally fixed inner bearing ring which coaxially surrounds an actuating element, a radial spacing of the inner and the outer bearing ring forming an annular inner space which is laterally closed by sealing means and holds rolling elements provided with a friction-reducing lubricant. The bearing rings of the rolling bearing comprise parallel support flanges extending perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the rolling bearing, through which support flanges the inner bearing ring is force-locked against the actuating element with the help of a disc spring arranged between the support flange and a retention element and the outer bearing ring is force-locked on disengaging levers of the friction clutch.
In a similar rolling bearing of the above-noted type known from the document DE-C 34 14 106, a sealing of the inner space of the rolling bearing is achieved by a deflector ring which is rotationally fixed on one of the bearing rings and whose free end extends to near an inner surface of the opposite bearing ring. On the side of the rolling elements remote from the deflector ring, the inner space is sealed by the support flange of one of the bearing rings which extends to near the opposite bearing ring. An alternate prior art solution provides an elastic seal which is rotationally fixed on one of the bearing rings and is in sliding contact with the other bearing ring. These prior art means for a lateral sealing of the inner space of rolling bearings for release devices of friction clutches are inadequate. The leak gap of the prior art between the deflector plate and the bearing ring has a small dimension, however that it cannot prevent penetration of abraded material from the driver plate of a friction clutch. The use of an elastic seal which bears sealingly against one of the bearing rings has an adverse effect on the frictional torque of the rolling bearing and leads to a warming of the rolling bearing which detracts from the working life of the rolling bearing.